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The State of NAPA Auto Parts

pipeline010

Sr. Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
618
Came across some interesting info the other day regarding NAPA. Maybe everyone already knows what I'm about to say and it's already out there but I was surprised and had it really click once I realized it.

If you want the beef just skip the narrative story.

Story:

I needed some POR-15 products last week so I could do my frame over the long weekend. I had previously picked up a starter pack to try it out from a local NAPA store a few months ago, but when I had bought it the box was literally coated in dust and the store looked really really crummy and run down.

So last week when I went back there the store looked even worse. I asked the guy at the counter if they had por15 he didn't know what it was. I asked him if he had any rust-proofing paints and he showed me basic primer and top coat paint. Absolutely zero knowledge of what I was attempting to do and very little interest either. Just wanted to get back on his phone.

I was out shopping with the family at various places, so I stopped eventually at another NAPA (same story) and then a general paint store. The paint store people were nice, but didn't carry those kinds of products.

As we went on we came across ANOTHER NAPA. I wasn't going to stop, but the place looked very busy and bright. So I tried it out.

FULL stock of POR-15, 4 people working registers. Everyone wanted to know what I was rust-proofing, was excited to hear about the truck, etc, normal auto shop stuff. So at check out I asked the guy....what the heck is going on with napa??


And here was his response:

NAPA was purchased by the company Genuine Auto Parts. The company DID NOT WANT a retail chain. What they wanted was the parts supply chain...the trucks, the distribution centers, the drivers....so they could move their products more cheaply around the country without having to build their own network. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE RETAIL SEGMENT.

So what about the store I was in? Well, it turns out each NAPA can be privately owned. MOST of the ones in my area were bought by G.A.P. but the store I was in that was run excellently was owned by a man who owned 2 local NAPAs. G.A.P. has been trying to buy him out and, so far, he resisted.

I don't know what this means for your local NAPA, but I thought it was very telling and made a lot of sense with what I had been dealing with locally.
 

crankman

Sr. Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
414
Know exactly how you feel. I had a NAPA here that went to for years knew everyone that worked there and one day poof. There all gone shelves are thread bare and didnt have stock of my normal stuff been buying for years. Counter guy said they sold out to somebody, it changed this store for sure.
 

bmc69

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Messages
11,852
Our local NAPA is well run and well stocked ..thank goodness.
 

Boss Hugg

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 8, 2010
Messages
2,140
We only have one store, 30 miles from me and for that reason, we rarely buy there. Only when we absolutely cannot find something elsewhere. So I suppose it won't affect me much. But I do hate to hear it. There've been times when I was out of town that NAPA came in really handy.
 

Seventee

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
Messages
997
Loc.
In the sticks of MT
Ours is in good shape too. I haven't noticed anything changing. NAPA is usually my first stop, followed by O'Reilly.

We had a smaller NAPA store in a nearby town that was closer to where I used to live. It was a bit run down but the guy that ran it really seemed to know his stuff and he kept good stock on hand, so it didn't bother me. Unfortunately that store closed a few years ago.

A small Ford dealer in a nearby town just bit the dust too. :(
 

Hozr

Bronco Guru
Joined
Oct 15, 2011
Messages
1,434
Loc.
Oly, WA
Just found out recently our local "commercial" NAPA was bought by a different existing franchise owner that has a reputation for running the stores into the ground. They never had what I wanted anyway and the counter help was mostly old men who didn't give a rats ass.

I mostly search on RockAuto now then buy wherever is cheapest since they have the most absurd shipping policies on the planet.
 

kylakekevin

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 11, 2017
Messages
1,289
NAPA is my first stop also. Of course my best friend is manager and all I have to do is send him a text and parts are in the shop when I get home from work. It better not shut down I wont know how or where to buy parts!
 

needabronco

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 2, 2004
Messages
6,411
Loc.
Prescott/Farmington
My local Napa had Bronco wiper blades in stock a few years ago. Between the 3 we have locally they generally have most things. One of my compression units is a 300 Ford 6 cylinder with a GM V6 distributor with the hei ignition. My parts guy found all of my parts simply based on that description....
 

bamabaja

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
723
Loc.
The Shoals
Haven’t had a NAPA in our small town for 30+ years. We have usual Autozone, OReillys, etc so not terrible. Local young man is major off road addict, and has very successful small off road shop. He just got the NAPA franchise and is attaching garage specializing in off road parts and mods. I’m fire up about the possibilities. Interesting about the change in NAPA corporate philosophy.

Half Cap, u will have to drive all the way to Franklin Co !
 

No Hay

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
1,657
Always NAPA for me in Oregon. The Salem and Clackamas locations were always busy, had parts by the next day and the folks were friendly. I hope they survive.

Now in Tucson, Oreilly's will be the test.
 

half cab

Contributor
Guru Bronco
Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
16,306
Haven’t had a NAPA in our small town for 30+ years. We have usual Autozone, OReillys, etc so not terrible. Local young man is major off road addict, and has very successful small off road shop. He just got the NAPA franchise and is attaching garage specializing in off road parts and mods. I’m fire up about the possibilities. Interesting about the change in NAPA corporate philosophy.

Half Cap, u will have to drive all the way to Franklin Co !

Hey that's no step,for a stepper;)
 

roundhouse

Bronco Guru
Joined
Sep 5, 2003
Messages
2,886
The napa closest to me went thru the same thing
They used to have knowledgeable car people working there

And then all of a sudden literally overnight the staff changed to what looked like Burger King cashier rejects , mostly women
None of whom knew a damn thing about cars

And then about a year later it’s out of business and closed

There’s another one further away that does a lot of commercial truck parts that seems to be still operating with the same old staff they’ve always had

An orielys opened near by no too long ago and they have mostly young people who don’t know much about cars but they try to be helpful
And the manager , a woman , knows a lot about cars , and last time I was there she was in the parking lot helping change a fuel pump in a Chevy suburban
 

sykanr0ng

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
5,363
Firing the highly paid employees to replace them with minimum wage earners so they could cut costs worked so well for Circuit City didn't it?
 

gnpenning

Contributor
Bronco Slave
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
2,190
Loc.
I have more questions than answers.
Are local NAPA is run by a father and son. They shift around to their other stores in near by towns. They have long term knowledgeable employees. Can't say the same for the other local parts houses. Some things they are cheaper on some things not so much. Try to do my part to keep them around.
 

Nothing Special

Sr. Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
804
.... NAPA was purchased by the company Genuine Auto Parts. The company DID NOT WANT a retail chain. What they wanted was the parts supply chain...the trucks, the distribution centers, the drivers....so they could move their products more cheaply around the country without having to build their own network. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE RETAIL SEGMENT.

So what about the store I was in? Well, it turns out each NAPA can be privately owned. MOST of the ones in my area were bought by G.A.P. but the store I was in that was run excellently was owned by a man who owned 2 local NAPAs. G.A.P. has been trying to buy him out and, so far, he resisted.

I don't know what this means for your local NAPA, but I thought it was very telling and made a lot of sense with what I had been dealing with locally.

Is some fact checking needed here? I Googled "Genuine Auto Parts" and got nothing. There is however a "Genuine Parts Company". I can easily see that being an insignificant slip-up by someone in the info chain. But...

Genuine Parts Company has been associated with NAPA for as long as I can remember. Another quick Google search showed that 1,142 of the over 6,000 NAPA stores are owned by Genuine Parts Company, but in the time I was willing to invest I couldn't see when that arrangement started. I only know that I've seen "Genuine Parts Company" on NAPA stuff for a long time.

So from what I remember and can find out now, there is no current structure change that is dooming NAPA stores. I'm not saying that the story is pure garbage. Just that it doesn't seem to be quite what was presented.
 

SteveL

Huge chevy guy
Joined
Jun 24, 2001
Messages
11,613
Loc.
Hawthorne ca
My local napa stores are privately owned with good service. The prices vary between the stores. I noticed years back you have to ask for the better line of parts like alternators or staters. If you go in and ask for a part they first offer you a crap Chinese version to compete with the cheaper chain stores. If you want the good stuff that will last you gotta ask for it.
 

tirewater

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
1,040
Loc.
San Francisco Bay Area
I've had varied luck with NAPA stores. There's definitely a difference between various NAPA stores. Their website is awful.

The DIY movement has grown tremendously over the last two decades and NAPA has failed to change to accommodate. This means having an actual store front, with easy to browse displays.

Instead NAPA appears to cling onto commercial sales, which have been dwindling as worldpac, internet, OEM parts have taken over. As parts quality has fallen, independent shops increasingly rely on OEM parts for repairs instead of 3rd party replacement parts such as beckarnley, dorman, BWD, and so on.
 
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